


Comfy Sofas and Capri-Suns

by Holistic-Author (HolisticAuthor)



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Possibly Pre-Slash, Project Blackwing (Dirk Gently), drugged dirk, post blackwing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 06:05:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9806480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolisticAuthor/pseuds/Holistic-Author
Summary: Set after the gang have rescued Dirk from Blackwing.'The first thought that managed to battle its way through his drug clouded mind and found its way out of his mouth, was that he was currently being softly herded onto a broken sofa that was most definitely not his. He knew this mainly because he did not, in fact, own a sofa.'





	

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write some fluff about Dirk and Todd drinking Capri-Suns. It didn't work out that way.  
> I haven't written anything in ages, so this was a nice warm-up. Also I'm posting that at some stupid hour in the night, so if there's any mistakes blame it on my sleep deprived mind.

“This is your apartment.”

These were probably not the first words that Dirk should be saying after having been bravely rescued. Something like, ‘thank you for saving me’ or even a simple ‘thanks’ would have probably been better - more appropriate. However, those were not the thoughts that occurred to Dirk. No, the first thought that managed to battle its way through his drug clouded mind and found its way out of his mouth, was that he was currently being softly herded onto a broken sofa that was most definitely not _his_. He knew this mainly because he did not, in fact, _own_ a sofa.

Todd rubbed the back of his neck, eyes scanning round the room.

“Yeah,” he said, “sorry about that. We were going to take you to yours, but we didn’t have a key, and I didn’t much fancy breaking down your door -or leaving you outside while I climbed through your window, so…”  Todd gave an embarrassed shrug.

“No, no. It’s fine, absolutely fine. ” Dirk tried to sound reassuring, but there was an odd slur to his voice which he didn’t like one bit. He opened and closed his mouth slightly, trying to find out why it wasn’t co-operating as he would like it to, before putting the problem aside to be dealt with later. “I like it here,” he continued, thinking suddenly that it was very important that Todd know that. “Nice sofa. Comfy sofa.” The sofa was somehow becoming very important to Dirk. It was in fact _very_ soft. Soft enough that the bruises that had been bothering Dirk for days decided to relent slightly in their constant aching. He wiggled slightly, letting himself melt further into the cushions.

“Personally, I’ve never had the greatest relationship with sofas. They seem to have a terrible habit of getting stuck in places they shouldn’t be.”

Todd was looking at him with those squinty eyes people sometimes got when they were worried about something. Dirk wondered what it was.  He hoped it would go away, he didn’t like things that made Todd look like that.

“How are you doing?” Todd asked.

“Okay, I think.” Dirk paused to consider the question further. “I wish that your apartment would stop swaying though, it’s awfully distracting.”

“Oh right, shit sorry.” Todd said. “Here, lean back. It will help.” He placed a pillow on the arm of the sofa, before helping Dirk shift round and lie down. For a second everything moved in swirling circles, swimming in front of Dirk’s eyes in what he considered was a very rude and gloating fashion, before settling into place again.

“We were going to take you to the hospital,” Todd explained hesitantly, “but we weren’t sure if that was the best idea. Farah said it was probably good for you to lay low for a while. Y’know, just in case they’re looking.” He didn’t need to say who _they_ were.

Dirk paused, then nodded. “Okay. Good, right.” He paused. “Thank you, by the way, for… you know…” Dirk made a small punching motion at the air, “being all cool and save-y and getting me out of there. I take back what I said before. You’re a great assis-friend.”

Todd looked surprised, then smiled slightly and nodded back. “Yeah, well y’know… Who wouldn’t want to break into a top secret CIA facility, right?”

Dirk frowned, “A lot of people actually.”

“Yeah,” said Todd, “You’re probably right.”

Dirk tried to smile at him, but winced when it opened a cut on his lip. He probed at it with his tongue, frowning.  Todd stared at him for a second, his eyes following the movement, before jumping into action, running into the kitchen and returning moments later with a glass of water.

“Here,” he said, “Farah said that you might be dehydrated.”

Dirk starred at the glass for a second, the gears in his head grinding to an awful halt, while something in his chest grew uncomfortably tight. Suddenly the sofa felt less comfortable, the bruises on Dirk’s back flaring back up.

“Dirk. Dirk. Hey, you okay?” Todd asked hesitantly, sounding unsure of himself. He looked to Dirk like a man who had accidentally entered a lion’s den and was trying to figure out if anyone was at home.

Dirk tried to reassure him that he was fine, but somehow couldn’t quite find the breath to do so. His brain was starting to fire up again, but it was thinking about all the wrong things. He couldn’t focus on Todd’s apartment; instead it was insisting that he was back in his room at Blackwing, the heavy door cracking open just enough for some armoured up stranger to come in and place a glass of water on the small table in the corner. It hadn’t taken Dirk long to figure out that they were drugging it. It didn’t taste right for one thing; bitter with a cold taste that reminded Dirk of iron.  It probably meant that they weren’t trying to hide the fact that it was drugged. They didn’t need to; it was the only liquid Dirk had received. He hadn’t much fancied dying of thirst, no matter how much he hated being drugged against his will.

Logically, Dirk knew that Todd wouldn’t drug him, because Todd was his friend, and friends don’t force feed their friends drugs. He was pretty sure that was Rule One or something.  Still, he couldn’t bring himself to take the glass. Just the thought of it made something in his throat close up uncomfortably.

He managed to shake his head a little, then -deciding that probably wasn’t enough- shook it again a little more forcefully, clamping his lips together like a child.

Todd, despite looking confused, seemed to get the message. He backed away, looking for a place to put the water before just dumping it on the floor.

“Better?” He asked, carefully shifting so that he was standing in front of the glass, blocking it from view.

Dirk let out a breath focusing on releasing some of the tension out of his body. “Yes, thank you,” he managed to force out. He coughed slightly, feeling he owed Todd an explanation. “I –uh – they put it in the water. The… whatever it is they’ve been using on me.” He didn’t like the look on Todd’s face; a strange mixture of mild horror and guilt. It made him feel uneasy. Without quite realising he was doing it he continued on. “Quite ingenious actually. When I was there the first time they used to have these horrible pills. They were this blueish-purple colour. I was never very good at swallowing them, and they used to get stuck in my throat, so I would end up gagging and choking on them and then I’d end up spitting them out. They used to think I was doing it on purpose. Sometimes they made me chew them instead. That was always the worst because they had this horrible metallic taste that reminded me of blood and lasted for _hours_ -“

“Dirk-”

“-Of course what was worse was what they _did_. It wasn’t always the same thing, you see. Sometimes they just knocked me out for a while. I think they gave me those ones when they we’re just tired of me. But most of the time they would either make everything incredibly dull, or incredibly sharp, the latter being the worst because I could just never think properly when they used them. The dullness wasn’t so bad, kind of peaceful actually-“

“Dirk. Stop.” Todd looked like someone had kicked his puppy, and Dirk immediately felt guilty. He didn’t know where the outburst had come from.

“Right, sorry, stupid-“

“No. No! It’s fine, it’s just… You don’t have to talk about anything if you don’t want to, and you seemed to be getting pretty worked up.”

Todd was right of course. Dirk’s whole body was twitching with tension. One of his hands had even curled into a fist by his side, tight enough that his knuckles stood out a harsh white against his already pale skin.

There was a loaded pause in which Dirk tried to get a handle on himself. Todd looked like he didn’t quite know what to do. Once or twice he opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but then snapped it shut as if he had thought better of it.

He looked tired, Dirk thought. A little skinnier than when he had last seen him, the stubble on his chin a little longer and unrulier than was generally considered acceptable.  There was a darkening bruise covering his collar bone, as well as a few cuts and grazes dotted around that Dirk figured he must have been the result of breaking into a government facility. He stared at it for a while in wonder. The fact that someone had put themselves through so much to save _him_ was baffling to Dirk. For the first time in years he had someone looking out for him, something more substantial than just the universe’s whims to guide him out of trouble. It made his chest tight in a wholly different and more pleasurable way than before.

Todd meanwhile had seemed to come to some sort of decision. He picked up the glass of water from the floor and made his way back to the kitchen. He was gone just long enough for Dirk to miss his presence before he was back, and holding something out to Dirk with raised eyebrows.

It was a Capri-Sun.

Dirk looked at it in confusion.

Todd sighed and explained, “It’s sealed right? So totally no way it could be drugged. Straight out the box.”

Dirk hesitantly took it, waiting to see if his brain put a halt to the proceedings. Thankfully, it seemed to be A-Okay with it.

A small smile finding its way onto his face he stabbed the straw into the top with a small spark of satisfaction, then took a long gulp. It was horrendously sweet. Dirk loved it.

There was a small pause while Dirk consumed the juice at an alarming rate. By his side Todd smiled then let out a bone creaking yawn. He pulled out a Capri-Sun of his own, sticking the straw in carefully and taking a thoughtful sip.

Clumsily Dirk patted the sofa, ignoring the small cloud of dust in sent billowing into the air, and inclined his head in invitation. Todd hesitated, and Dirk realised that he was in fact taking up a large portion of the piece of furniture. He tried to push himself up to move his legs aside, but failed spectacularly when his shaky, drug softened arms betrayed him and crumpled under his weight.

Todd raised a judgemental eyebrow before setting down his drink and shifting Dirk’s legs himself. He slumped down onto the sofa with a sigh, moving Dirk legs round so that they were on his lap. The whole thing was so familiar and fond that Dirk almost did something stupid like beam at him. Instead, he just muttered something about his traitor arms, before relaxing into the position with a content sigh. He eyed Todd’s still full drink longingly, tossing aside his empty one. Todd seemed to catch the look, and like a magician pulled out another drink from what –to Dirk – looked like thin air. He took it gratefully, and made a mental note to looking into whether Todd was actually magic or not later. It wouldn’t surprise him.

Things got hazy then for a little while. For the first time Dirk could remember he couldn’t feel the pull of the universe in any way. His mind was totally untethered, drifting from thought to thought without any need to pursue them further.  Dirk couldn’t help but feel that it was actually quite pleasant.  He guessed that it might be because of the drugs, but fantasized for a second that it was because he was exactly where the universe wanted him to be, that for the first time in his life he had found somewhere he could _breathe_ , but then quickly moved away from the thought, an odd panic of jinxing it pulling him back into the room.

He glanced around him, taking in the destruction that was Todd’s home.

“Your apartment’s still broken.” He observed.

Surprisingly Todd smiled again slightly. “Yeah, well with all the rescue mission stuff that’s been going on I never got a chance to fix it.” He looked around the space. “Or even tidy.”

Dirk felt equal parts guilty any flattered. Todd cared about him. Genuinely, truthfully cared about him. Enough that he would spend time looking for Dirk instead of putting his life back together. A life which Dirk had broken in the first place.

He honestly hadn’t meant to, but chaos followed him everywhere, he couldn’t avoid it. His life was crazy and unpredictable, and the universe set him on paths that he couldn’t always explain. The reason he had no friends was because no one could ever stand the utter mess their lives became around him. At the end of the day all Dirk could do was fix things as best he could, and then move on so that everyone could live in peace.

But Todd stayed. And Todd was still staying. And he said that Dirk was his friend, and saved him, and gave him clothes, and let him lie down on his sofa when everything was getting too spinney, and gave him _Capri-Suns_.

He didn’t understand it, but was thinking that maybe, just _maybe_ , it was something that he might let himself get used to. Just a little.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, two things:  
> 1\. Farah and Amanda are not there because Amanda manged to dislocate her shoulder during the brake out. Not in any heroic way, but it turns out that you *can* victory high-five someone too hard. Anyway, Farah was the one to drive her to the hospital.  
> 2\. On was on the request of Amanda that Todd keeps a solid supply of Capri-Sun in his house. It started when they first started pulling all nighters when planning the rescue mission. 
> 
> So that's it! Thanks for reading! (If you want to follow my Dirk blog on tumblr you can: dirkgently42.tumblr.com)


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